Galicia or city of Halicz, one of the component regions of Medieval Red Ruthenia (or Rus), consisted of the area just north of the Carpathians to the east of Little Poland. Some historians say that its name recalls its ancient inhabitants, eastern Gauls, who also left their names imprinted on the landscape in Anatolian Galatia and in the Romanian county Galati. First mentioned in 981, when ruler of Kijevian Ruthenia took over Red Cities in his military trip towards Poland. In the following century the area shifted to Poland and back to Ruthenia. Galicia comprised an autonomous principality from 1087 to 1253, and a vassal kingdom of the Mongol Golden Horde from 1253 to 1340, when King Casimir III of Poland annexed it to his realm. Between 1372 and 1387 belonged to Hungary.

Thereafter Galicia comprised a Polish Ruthenian Voivodship (województwo ruskie Voivodship ) until 1772, when it became the largest part of the area annexed by Austria in the First Partition.

As such, the Austrian region of Poland was known as the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria to underline the Hungarian claims to the country. However, the big chunk of Little Poland was also added to the province. Lemberg served as the capital of Austrian Galicia, which was wholly dominated by the Polish aristocracy, despite the fact that the population of the eastern half of the province consisted of East Slavs (Ruthenes or Ukrainians [distinguished in their religion from Ukrainians from Ukraine]), Jews and Poles. In 1846, the important Polish city of Cracow became part of the province following the Austrian suppression of that independent republic. From 1868, Galicia was an autonomus province of Austria-Hungary with Polish as an official language.

In 1918, Western Galicia became a part of the restored Republic of Poland, while Ukrainian nationalists briefly declared the independence of Eastern Galicia as the "Western Ukrainian Republic". Their attempt to capture the capital of Lemberg failed due to the resistance of its Polish residents. Though Poland sent assistance to break the siege, the city remained under siege for few more months. Eventually, the whole of the province was recaptured by Poles. Poland's annexation of Eastern Galicia was internationally recognized in 1923. After the Nazi-Soviet pact, Stalin annexed Eastern Galicia to the Soviet Republic of Ukraine. The old Austrian province remains divided today, with the western part Polish and the eastern Ukrainian.

Principal cities: Lviv (formerly Lvov, Lwow, Lemberg); Krakow, Przemysl

Population of the Western Galicia in 1931

Population of the Eastern Galicia in 1931

Data for Lwow Voivodship in the table differ from the data above. Probably in the table are shown data for Eastern part of the voivodship.

 

Locality

Total

Polish

%

Ukrainian

%

Yiddish

%

Other

%

Southeast Poland

5,053,186

2,007,215

39.7%

2,650,997

52.5%

353,928

7.0%

41,046

.8%

Lwow Voivodship

Bobrka

97,124

30,762

31.7%

60,444

62.2%

5,533

5.7%

385

.4%

Dobromil

93,970

35,945

38.3%

52,463

55.8%

4,997

5.3%

565

.6%

Drohobycz

194,456

91,935

47.3%

79,214

40.7%

20,484

10.5%

2,823

1.5%

Grodek Jagielonski

85,007

33,228

39.1%

47,812

56.2%

2,975

3.5%

992

1.2%

Jaworow

86,762

26,938

31.0%

55,868

64.4%

3,044

3.5%

912

1.1%

Lwow city

312,231

198,212

63.5%

35,137

11.3%

75,316

24.1%

3,566

1.1%

Lwow county

142,800

80,712

56.5%

58,395

40.9%

1,569

1.1%

2,124

1.5%

Mosciska

89,460

49,989

55.9%

37,196

41.6%

2,164

2.4%

111

.1%

Rudki

79,170

38,417

48.5%

36,254

45.8%

4,247

5.4%

252

.3%

Sambor

133,814

56,818

42.5%

68,222

51.0%

7,794

5.8%

980

.7%

Zolkiew

95,507

35,816

37.5%

56,060

58.7%

3,344

3.5%

287

.3%

Brzozow

10,109

4,484

44.4%

5,120

50.6%

338

3.3%

167

1.7%

Jaroslaw

47,668

29,482

61.8%

17,212

36.1%

706

1.5%

268

.6%

Lesko

60,120

17,837

29.7%

34,457

57.3%

6,960

11.6%

866

1.4%

Lubaczow

51,885

23,686

45.7%

24,470

47.2%

3,503

6.8%

226

.4%

Przemysl

104,361

55,108

52.8%

47,380

45.4%

1,638

1.6%

235

.2%

Rawa Ruska

107,594

23,063

21.4%

72,638

67.5%

10,325

9.6%

1,568

1.5%

Sanok

12,395

6,140

49.5%

5,891

47.5%

363

2.9%

1

.0%

Sokal

55,677

21,681

38.9%

30,867

55.4%

2,826

5.1%

303

.5%

Turka

112,385

25,673

22.8%

78,884

70.2%

7,492

6.7%

336

.3%

Totals

1,972,495

885,926

44.9%

903,984

45.8%

165,618

8.4%

16,967

.9%

Tarnopol Voivodship

Borszczow

103,277

46,153

44.7%

52,612

50.9%

4,302

4.2%

210

.2%

Brody

91,248

32,843

36.0%

50,490

55.3%

7,640

8.4%

275

.3%

Brzezany

103,824

48,168

46.4%

51,757

49.9%

3,716

3.6%

183

.2%

Buczacz

139,062

60,523

43.5%

70,336

50.6%

8,059

5.8%

144

.1%

Czortkow

84,008

36,486

43.4%

40,866

48.6%

6,474

7.7%

182

.2%

Kamionka Strumilowa

82,111

41,693

50.8%

35,178

42.8%

4,737

5.8%

503

.6%

Kopyczynce

88,614

38,158

43.1%

45,196

51.0%

5,164

5.8%

96

.1%

Podhajce

95,663

46,710

48.8%

45,031

47.1%

3,464

3.6%

458

.5%

Przemyslany

89,908

52,269

58.1%

32,777

36.5%

4,445

4.9%

417

.5%

Radziechow

69,313

25,427

36.7%

39,970

57.7%

3,277

4.7%

639

.9%

Skalat

89,215

60,091

67.4%

25,369

28.4%

3,654

4.1%

101

.1%

Tarnopol

142,220

93,874

66.0%

42,374

29.8%

5,836

4.1%

136

.1%

Trembowla

84,321

50,178

59.5%

30,868

36.6%

3,173

3.8%

102

.1%

Zaleszczyki

72,021

27,549

38.3%

41,147

57.1%

3,261

4.5%

64

.1%

Zbaraz

65,579

32,740

49.9%

29,609

45.2%

3,142

4.8%

88

.1%

Zborow

81,413

39,624

48.7%

39,174

48.1%

2,522

3.1%

93

.1%

Zloczow

118,609

56,628

47.7%

55,381

46.7%

6,066

5.1%

534

.5%

Totals

1,600,406

789,114

49.3%

728,135

45.5%

78,932

4.9%

4,225

.3%

Stanislawow Voivodship

Dolina

118,373

21,158

17.9%

83,880

70.9%

9,031

7.6%

4,304

3.6%

Horodenka

92,894

27,751

29.9%

59,957

64.5%

5,031

5.4%

155

.2%

Kalusz

102,252

18,637

18.2%

77,506

75.8%

5,109

5.0%

1,000

1.0%

Kolomyja

176,000

52,006

29.5%

110,533

62.8%

11,191

6.4%

2,270

1.3%

Kosow

93,952

6,718

7.2%

79,838

85.0%

6,730

7.2%

666

.7%

Nadworna

140,702

16,907

12.0%

112,128

79.7%

11,020

7.8%

647

.5%

Rohatyn

127,252

36,152

28.4%

84,875

66.7%

6,111

4.8%

114

.1%

Stanislawow

198,359

49,032

24.7%

120,214

60.6%

26,996

13.6%

2,117

1.1%

Stryj

152,631

25,186

16.5%

106,183

69.6%

15,413

10.1%

5,849

3.8%

Sniatyn

78,025

17,206

22.1%

56,007

71.8%

4,341

5.6%

471

.6%

Tlumacz

116,028

44,958

38.7%

66,659

57.5%

3,677

3.2%

734

.6%

Zydaczow

83,817

16,464

19.6%

61,098

72.9%

4,728

5.6%

1,527

1.8%

Totals

1,480,285

332,175

22.4%

1,018,878

68.8%

109,378

7.4%

19,854

1.3%


The name Galicia also can refer to an Autonomous Region of Spain.